Why can't we refuse guide dogs? Because what we reject is not an animal, but the hope of blind people to contact the world.
At present, there are more than 17 million people with visual disabilities in China, accounting for 1.2% of the current population, but do we often meet them on the road? No, because the barrier-free facilities in China are not perfect, it is very inconvenient for blind people to go out without being accompanied. Limited by conditions, they were trapped in a small world near their homes. You can't ignore their needs just because you can't see them. Guide dogs are the eyes of the blind, but with the help of guide dogs, they can live like healthy people.
Why are people afraid of guide dogs? It is because we know too little about it, because it is big, afraid of biting, afraid of dirty and so on, all because we do not understand it.
This article will take you deep into the group of guide dogs.
Why are all guide dogs medium and large?
Guide dogs are big, but they are big and warm.
Guide dogs not only need to guide the blind, but also need to protect the blind, so they must be bigger. Guide dogs are required to stand on the side of the human body just to the knee position, which allows the blind to perceive its body movements well, and can also play a protective role in emergencies, which is the necessity of medium and large. If it stopped you at Teddy's size, would you know.
Although it is a medium and large dog, it has a very good personality. Guide dogs should get along with blind people for a long time, and go to various public places. It requires calm temperament, good obedience, strong learning ability and non-aggressive. Basically, purebred dogs are the main ones, because purebred dogs are bred for certain specific purposes or traits, so all the characteristics of breeding, including personality, health, appearance, will only fluctuate in a relatively small range.
There are four breeds commonly used internationally, the Labrador, the Golden Retriever, the German Shepherd, and the Standard Poodle (the legendary giant poodle). In addition to being a guide dog, German shepherds are also used as military dogs and other types of assistance dogs (such as guide dogs, working dogs to help people with physical disabilities), but German shepherds are more aggressive and less used as guide dogs. The standard poodle's curly hair is mainly aimed at blind people who are allergic to dog hair, so it is even rarer in guide dogs.
Can guide dogs bite people?
You know, there has never been a record of injury since the official service of the guide dog.
To achieve this "0" injury record is ensured by the screening mechanism of guide dogs. First of all, when choosing a reserve guide dog, you need to check the "family tree". Generally, you need to check the character records of three generations. If the parents and grandparents of the puppy have a record of hurting people or even being irritable, such as wanting to bite people but not biting, and showing their teeth to people, then the puppy will be eliminated directly. Through screening, puppies as preparatory guide dogs also need to be sent to social families for foster care until they are 1 year old. After the age of 1, the guide dog will return to the training base for guide dog training, and if there is any abnormality during the foster care and training period, it will also be eliminated!
Guide dogs have a high elimination rate among working dogs. According to the data given by the International Guide Dog Association, the elimination rate of guide dogs can reach 70%, and the basic principle of elimination is to ensure the safety of blind people.
The first guide dog training institution was founded in 1819 by Viennese Haier John. Guide dogs have appeared for so many years, and there has never been an incident of guide dogs injuring people in the world. A blind man once told the guide dog training base that his guide dog had been trampled on its tail, but he could not see it. The dog did not say a word, nor did it make a big move. He had been trampled on like this until a kind person next to him reminded him.
Guide dogs are scary. Can you wear a muzzle?
Guide dogs can't work properly with muzzles, which poses a great threat to the safety of blind people.
When a guide dog works, it relies on the cooperation of its eyes, smell and memory perception, and its whole body works together, and the dog breathes through its mouth to dissipate heat. Once the guide dog is muzzled, the sense of smell will be disturbed and the ability to dissipate heat will be reduced. When you wear thick cotton-padded clothes and masks in summer, can you work smoothly?
Blind people are not convenient to take care of, and guide dogs will be very smelly?
Does a well-cared dog stink? For blind people, guide dogs are not only tools, but also their families. It is necessary to take care of guide dogs.
If the professional skills of the guide dog pass the examination, it will enter the matching stage with the applicant. According to the comprehensive factors of various aspects, the guide dog base will match each applicant with a guide dog suitable for him, and then let them train together in the base for about 40 days. During this period, teachers at the base will teach blind people to establish feelings with their guide dogs, form a correct mode of getting along with each other, and teach them how to take care of dogs, including feeding, combing, bathing and picking up excrement. Guide dogs and blind people live together 24 hours a day, so the hygiene and health of guide dogs are highly valued, and daily hygiene and health checks are essential.
Guide dogs in public places will not cause health problems other than hair loss, and guide dogs will wear waistcoats when they work to reduce hair loss.
When you meet a guide dog, please give it space and respect for the blind.
A guide dog is not a pet dog. When you meet it, it is working. Your disturbance may endanger the safety of the blind. Please follow the principle of "four don'ts and one question".
Four No:
One question:
Meeting a guide dog is actually the luck of our life.
The number of guide dogs in China is extremely rare, and there are less than 200 guide dogs currently in service in China. This means that there are 672 cities in China, less than one guide dog in every three cities, nearly 1.4 billion people in China, the probability of encountering a guide dog is 000014 0. Meeting a guide dog means good luck. Will you refuse this great blessing?
This article was released after the review of China Guide Dog Training Base in Dalian. Thanks to all the staff of the training base!
